88 More Ways to Play Backgammon
by LanieSullivan
Summary: Since I was torn on so many episodes on just where to add my "fillers' and also on whether to write is as a continuing story arc as I ultimately decided to do with the first "Backgammon" story, I decided to begin all over again as a series of one-shots using different scenes from each of the 88 episodes. This time, I will explore how our heroes could have become a couple earlier.
1. Care Package

Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

A/N-This is the second go-round of "Backgammon" to use the scenes that I didn't use in the first one. It is not necessary to have read or followed the first one to read this one. This one will differ from the first story in that it will be a series of one-shots to explore how Lee and Amanda could have gotten together permanently earlier on instead of the continuing story arc that I had in the prior one. Yes, I know that I still have 12 episodes left to go in the other one, but my muse wouldn't leave me alone on this one and I promise, the other one WILL be finished. This one will just be one you can enjoy without having to wait for updates since each chapter will be able to stand alone.

On an unrelated note, for my fellow writers who are on Facebook, there is a brand new group just created today for those looking to expand their readership called Fanfiction Review Group! If anyone is interested in joining, please PM me. Now on to the fun stuff!

 **Chapter 1-Care Package**

"The First Time"

Amanda kept shifting her gaze worriedly from her mother to Lee and back again, trying to keep her mother from spotting him at the kitchen window, but still trying to help him. It wasn't until she realized that her mother had mailed the package that her real panic set it, especially at seeing the look of fury etched on Lee's face.

"Was this the dumb thing that would have made me laugh," he spat out in a clipped tone, trying to keep his anger in check.

"I hadn't heard from you. I didn't know what IT was..." she tried to justify, but he cut her off with a glower just as her mother walked back in blustering about the challenge it was for her to mail the package when she didn't drive.

"Uh..." Amanda began nervously. "I...uh...I think you missed a spot in the dining room."

"Did I? Oh, Dear." She glanced at her drenched daughter and suggested, "You oughtta go upstairs and take a nice, hot shower, get yourself warmed up a bit before you catch cold."

"Yes, Mother, I will, but you know I think I left my purse in the car, so I'm just gonna,'" she nodded to the back door with her head. "Go run out and get it."

"Of course."

Dotty returned to the dining room as Amanda sneaked out the door and hissed to Lee, "Come on. Hurry before she comes back in here again."

Lee crept in the back door and started walking the way Amanda had pointed toward the den, but ducked down quickly behind the kitchen island when Dotty's voice startled them both again.

"You know while you're out there, you might water my tulips," Dotty called to Amanda in a teasing tone. "You won't even need the watering can."

"Very funny, Mother." Amanda rolled her eyes and then whispered to Lee. "Go on. Up the stairs, first door." She turned toward the back door again.

"Where are you going?" He questioned in irritation.

"Out to the garage to find something dry for you to put on. I'm sure I've still got something of Joe's that will fit you."

"I've got a better idea," he whispered back as he reached into his pocket. "I always keep a change of clothes in my car for stuff just like this."

"Oh, of course. I mean, how silly of me not to think of that. Of course you would in your line of work. I mean, you must get into messes like this all the time. I just don't know why I didn-"

"Amanda!" he hissed to stop her ramble.

"Yes?"

"Will you just...get my bag...please?"

"Of course," she nodded and took the keys he held out.

She hurried out to his car, found the bag in question in his trunk, crept back in through the French doors to avoid running into her mother again, and hurried up the stairs. When she entered her bedroom, she let out a gasp at seeing Lee stripped down to his boxers, towel in hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" she questioned.

"Getting dried off just like you suggested," he answered nonchalantly. Noticing the way she was trying to avert her eyes, he teased, "Don't try to tell me you're bashful. You _do_ have two children."

She glared at him. "Yes. Yes, I do and my children are right down the hall doing their homework and what would they think if they came in here to find me with a half-naked man in my room? How would I explain it?"

He chuckled. "Haven't you taught them yet about the birds and the bees? I'm thinking, given the fact that you DO have children, this isn't the first time you've seen a half-naked man." When she just continued to glare and even started to flush, he couldn't resist teasing her a bit more. "Please, tell me you have seen a naked man before and you're not one of those suburban prudes who just hides under the covers with her eyes closed until it's all over."

"Of course I have. More than one," she fired back. "I did tell you I have a boyfriend, didn't I?" She dropped his bag on her bed and approached him menacingly. "And I think the fact that I met you at that stupid party should tell you that I don't hide from _anything_." She jabbed a finger into his chest.

"So, who's Joe?"

"Joe?" She eyed him warily wondering just how he knew about Joe.

"Yeah, the guy whose clothes you wanted to dress me in? Is he the boyfriend?"

She shook her head. She'd been so unnerved by the sight of this well-built, nearly-naked man in her bedroom, it had completely slipped her mind that she'd mentioned Joe's name downstairs. "No. Joe's my ex-husband. Dean's my... ...my...boyfriend." _Why was she telling him this?_

"You DO get around, don't you? I always wondered about you supposedly wholesome housewives," he jested with a chuckle.

She whipped around to face him, shook her finger at him again and countered, "Well, I suppose it's not as much as you with your James Bond lifestyle. I suppose you're like a sailor with a girl in every port."

"I hold my own." He grabbed the scolding finger she was pointing at him and used it as leverage to pull her closer, holding her lithe body tightly against his own. "Care to find out?"

She attempted to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held her fast. "I certainly do not." His nearness, the hard muscles of his chest, the soft, deep timbre of his voice were too...too intoxicating.

"No?"

"No." she asserted as she tried again to free herself, but only succeeded in getting herself trapped tighter in his embrace, her chest pressed painfully, yet strangely erotically against his. Her nipples, already peaked from the dampness of her blouse, grew even harder against the solid wall of his chest.

"Hmm...Too bad," his voice became low and crooning as he continued. "Because you need to get out of your wet clothes too."

"I-I-I-" she stammered as his eyes bored into hers.

He took advantage of her silence. "You know, when I heard you screaming while we were being chased, I couldn't help wondering..." He paused to gauge her reaction.

"Wondering...?" Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

He leaned in close and murmured in her ear, "Wondering what else might make you scream."

 _It's for certain Dean doesn't,_ she couldn't help thinking. That thought should have snapped her out of her thrall, but instead it only increased it. If this man could set her on fire the way that he did by just holding her, what could he do to her in... _Stop it, Amanda,_ she scolded herself, but still she didn't protest when his lips skimmed her ear. Nor did she protest when those same lips travelled down her neck, finding the sensitive pulse point that made her weak. "Lee..." she sighed and found her hands of their own accord, travelling the length of his hard chest, her fingers grazing his nipples while he pushed her sweater-vest from her shoulder and began working loose the buttons on her blouse.

When she felt his hands cupping her breasts, causing her to let out a low, guttural moan, reality set in and she pushed hard on his chest. "What are we doing?"

He gave her a wink and with an impish grin, responded, "If you don't know, you must not get around _that_ much."

"OH!" She slapped at his chest. He used the opportunity to clasp her hands again and this time, he captured her mouth with his own in a fierce kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth beneath his, moaning again as his tongue swept the roof of her mouth.

Lee let out a loud groan at the contact of her pressing against him, her slender form setting him alight in a way that he hadn't felt in...well...ever. With each nip of her lips on his, each touch of her tongue, he felt himself growing harder despite the cool dampness of his underwear, the heat of her touch more than overriding the cold. He backed her up toward her bed, pushing her onto it and continued the task he'd begun of undressing her. He pulled back to look at her for a moment as he slowly reached for the button on her slacks and flicked it open. As she looked at him questioningly, her dark eyes made even darker by desire, he answered her with, "We've gotta get you out of these wet clothes."

"Yes," she choked out in a voice so filled with raw need that it sounded nothing like her own to her ears.

Lee pulled off her high-heeled pumps one at a time, dropped them to the floor with a loud thunk, thunk and then slowly peeled her wet pants down her long, shapely legs. He moved back up her body achingly slowly, planting warm, wet kisses all the way up one leg and down the other. He repeated the motion, foot, ankle, calf, thigh until Amanda was panting with the ache of the need she felt for release.

"Please," she pleaded with him.

He smirked at her as he hooked his fingers into the sides of her panties and yanked them down, dropped his boxers to the floor, and knelt between her legs. He took a moment to inhale the intoxicating scent of her arousal a smug grin playing across his lips as he knew it was all for him, not Joe and certainly not this Dean. Just the way she'd said, "boyfriend" earlier when they'd been talking told him all he needed to know about her feelings for him...or lack thereof. He flicked his tongue out to taste her, delighted when she twitched beneath him and let out a sigh at the contact. He dove deeper, taking her swollen nub into his mouth, suckling her while he slipped one finger inside her.

"Lee!" she cried out at the dual sensations of his mouth on her, one long finger stroking her inside. The pleasure increased as his other hand yanked down one cup of her bra and he began teasing her nipple as well, the already hardened peak adding more to the mix as he rolled it between his skilled fingers. She shut her eyes as she slid her hands through his fine hair, not caring that it was wet, as she cradled his head against her. She soon found herself keening uncontrollably as a fierce climax ripped through her and her body convulsed with the spasms of her release.

Her breathing was still out of control when she felt the bed shift as he left it for just a moment. She heard the ripping of foil and she opened her eyes to see him rolling on a condom. Before her addled mind could fully process the action, he was inside her and she found herself crying out his name again.

"Amanda," he growled as he pushed deeper into her. He lowered himself to her and captured her breast in his mouth and when she hooked her legs over his and wrapped her arms around his back, he began to move, thrusting slowly into her. How was it that this tiny, seemingly mousy, but as he quickly learned was more mouthy than mousy, housewife make him feel like he'd never felt before? He groaned louder when she pushed her hips up to meet his every thrust, inviting him into her welcoming body. He clamped his lips down onto her neck, remembering that there was a particular spot that made her squirm.

"OHH," she cried, and then caught herself when she remembered that her boys were down the hall. She linked one hand behind his head and buried her mouth in his neck, muffling her cries.

At feeling her lips clamping down on the skin just above his collarbone and feeling her inner walls clenching around him, Lee felt himself tumbling over the edge. He let out a rasping groan as he emptied himself into her, whispering her name into her hair as his entire body bucked and trembled with his release. He sputtered and gasped as he tried to catch his breath and made a move to pull away from her, but she held him tightly to her and rained soft kisses on his face and neck. No woman had ever just held him like this. He shifted uncomfortably, but as she continued to croon his name with her feather-light kisses, he soon relaxed into her warm embrace. _Was this the motherly side of her taking over,_ he wondered? _Or was this just her way of prolonging the experience?_ Whatever it was, he could get to like it.

Lee lifted his head to gaze at her, brushing a few still-damp tendrils of hair from her face. "Hi," he said.

She burst out laughing. "Hi?"

He shrugged. "I panicked. I didn't know what to say. That was...you were..."

She nodded. "I know." She flushed slightly when she realized how conceited that sounded. "With you, I mean."

"I knew what you meant," he affirmed as he finally rolled away from her and got up to dispose of the used condom. Not daring to look at her, he tried to sound casual as he inquired, "So, you and this boyfriend...Um...how serious is it?"

She got up and reached for her robe. "Well, considering that I just let you make me scream, what do you think?" She made a mental note to let Dean know that she just couldn't continue with him. How could she go back to being the sedate weatherman's girlfriend when a virtual stranger could... She shook her head. She had no illusions that there would be any kind of a future with a man like Lee Stetson, but she knew that there was...something better for her than a man who thought a romantic date was giving her a tour of the National Weather Service's Washington headquarters.

"Good," he nodded firmly and found himself smiling giddily. When she caught his eye, he quickly added, "I mean, for national security, you know, can't have you accidentally blabbing our secrets."

"No, can't have that," she acknowledged with a smile. _Was it possible that this man she'd just met and had incredibly mind-blowing sex with was already jealous?_ She wondered just what other secrets she might learn about him.

Lee reached for his bag that they'd knocked on the floor during their escapade and began rummaging through it as he tried to think up a way that he could still stay in contact with her. He knew where the package was now, so he didn't need her anymore...not for the job anyway. "So...um... since you wrapped that package up to mail, you wanna' come search the post office with me and help me find it?"

Amanda burst out laughing again at his obvious attempt to keep her around and answered, "Well, I think you just learned I'm pretty good at finding..." She paused, licked her lips, nodded to his nether region and finished with, "...packages."


	2. Right Here in Our Cheery Kitchen

**Chapter 2-Right Here in Our Cheery Kitchen**

"There Goes The Neighborhood"

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"You know what just happened?"

Amanda shook her head. "What?"

"We just had our first fight...as man and wife, that is."

"Right here in our cheery kitchen," she added with an awkward chuckle as she shoved her hands in her pockets. His comment and playing this cover had brought to mind her mother's rush to get her married again. She couldn't help wondering what it would be like to actually be married to this man. She'd teased him about how normal people do things when they were arguing and he'd admitted that he didn't conform to her idea of normal. She sensed though, that it had more to do with some deep-seated pain from his past that led him to being a loner and keeping people at arm's length.

As he reached to shake her hand, Lee felt a surprising jolt of electricity at the contact. During their fight, he'd been equally surprised that when he'd challenged her, she'd not only risen to the challenge, she'd actually come up with a good scenario. He couldn't help wondering if that fiery look he'd seen in her eyes during their argument would be duplicated under...other circumstances. If just a simple touch of her hand could get him this excited, what might kissing her do...or more? He decided that he had to find out. Using the grip he had on her hand, he closed the gap between them, pulling her closer as he took a step to meet her.

Amanda's breath caught in her throat as his mouth hovered near hers. She'd recalled the look in his eyes last night when he'd stood nearly shirtless on the stairs, taunting her with his dimpled grin as if daring her to go to bed with him. She had to admit, she'd looked. How could she not? He was an attractive man, after all. Before those thoughts could continue, she found she'd met him halfway and their lips were meeting in a fiery clash of tongues and teeth as they sought to devour one another. A low moan escaped her from deep in her throat when he gripped her bottom and she felt his growing erection pressed against her as his tongue delved into her mouth. She reached up to tug at the knot of his tie. She quickly loosened the tie, dropped it to the floor and moved on to the buttons of his shirt.

Lee couldn't believe the charge he got from just kissing this seemingly simple housewife. Why the hell was she wasting her time with a dull-as-a-stick weatherman if she had this kind of fire burning within her? Or was that where the fire came from? Was she bored and left wanting by her so-called boyfriend? Was she just playing it safe with him because she was divorced and didn't want to risk getting near a real fire again for fear of getting burned? His musings were soon tamped down by the feeling of her nimble fingers on his bare chest, her nails grazing his nipples. He tore his mouth from hers, closed his eyes and tossed his head back as he groaned out her name.

Hearing her name on Lee's lips spurred Amanda on. She lowered her lips to the skin she'd just exposed, something she'd wanted to do since the night before when he'd teased her about getting her mind out of the gutter. She felt her desire for him rising as he clutched her head and ran his fingers through her hair, while his deep husky tone reverberated through the room. At hearing the sounds of the pleasure she was giving him, she became bolder and dropped to her knees in front of him, made quick work of his belt and his pants, freeing him from them.

Lee's eyes flew open in surprise. "A-man-da," he choked out through his ragged breathing. "What are you doing?"

She licked her lips seductively and answered sassily, "Something else we normal people do," and without another word, she took him in her mouth.

"OHHH!" he cried at the sensation of being enveloped in her warm, wet mouth. If this was her idea of normal, he could get used to being normal in a hell of a hurry. "Oh...so...good..." he panted as she ran her teeth lightly along his tip, then took him deeper, increasing the pressure and then starting all over again. Where had she learned to do that? He shook his head and decided that he didn't want to know.

He grasped her hands, pulled her to her feet and captured her lips in a heated kiss as he backed her up against the kitchen table and yanked on the tails of her blouse, pulling it free from her slacks. He worked the buttons loose until her skin was exposed to his questing hands. He then moved his hands to the button at her waist and flicked it open, followed by lowering her zipper. He broke their kiss to push down on her pants in an attempt to free her of them, but was hampered by her heels. She helped by leaning against the table and kicking them off. He finished the job he'd started on her pants and returned to her waiting arms, pressing hot open-mouthed kiss to her neck, her chest, anywhere he could reach.

"Lee," she hissed as she closed her eyes and luxuriated in the feeling of his lips on her skin. She let out a tiny gasp and opened her eyes when he lifted her up onto the table. "Wh-what are you doing?" she rasped.

"Trust me," he replied with a salacious grin as he parted her thighs and knelt between them.

"OH!" she cried out as his tongue made contact with the most intimate part of her being. She clutched his head in her hands as he began a teasing assault on the sensitive bundle of nerves at her center. She soon found that her legs began to shake and she moved her hands to grip the sides of the table for support, grateful that she was sitting or she felt sure she'd her knees would have buckled already with the intense pleasure he was giving her. She couldn't help crying out his name as she felt the waves of release washing over her.

He raised his head to look at her, a satisfied smirk on his face. He reached for her waist with one hand, while his other fumbled for the foil packet in his pants pocket. He halted for a moment before opening it though, searching her eyes for her consent to continue. When she reached up to place her hands on his shoulders to urge him closer, he quickly sheathed himself in the latex and pushed into her slowly, both of them groaning at the connection between them.

"Yes," she sighed as he gripped her hips and began to move within her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed her hips against his to urge him deeper.

"Oh, yes," he echoed as he drove into her, the tension that had been bubbling between them since last night dissipating as their breathing quickened and he soon felt her tightening around him as she clutched him tightly setting off his own release and he felt himself exploding inside her.

As he struggled to catch his breath, panting and gasping, he couldn't help thinking that the kitchen had just been made a whole lot cheerier. He smiled a bit when he saw the sated grin on her face and that she was breathing equally as hard.

When he finally moved away from her, disposed of the used condom and they both straightened their clothing, he grinned at her. "You know, I like blue a whole lot better."

She licked her lips and fired back, "Well, like I said, blue makes it cheerier."

He couldn't help laughing and shook his head. Somehow, she'd managed to surprise him with that one even after their passionate encounter. He figured his "blue" crack would have her shifting back to the nervousness he'd seen in her last night. He turned to reach for his suit jacket and in doing so came face to face with her boyfriend's photo. Or almost face to face, since the guy's face wasn't visible in it. He let out a sigh, wondering what she was thinking about...if their coupling meant anything to her or if she'd just be returning to... _him_. He hoped not because he could see himself having an incredible future with her if she were willing.

"So...um...Amanda?"he began without turning to face her.

"Yeah?"

Taking a deep breath, he faced her and with a gesture at the picture on the wall, continued, "So...uh...last night, you said you had to consider...what's-his-name."

"Dean," she informed him and confirmed, "Yes, I did, but I think things have changed since then...don't you?"

Was that hope he saw in her eyes? His heart did a somersault at the thought. Trying not to sound too eager, he grinned and teased, "So, does that mean you plan on telling him there was something fishy going on here?"

She snorted. "Oh, that's really terrible." Still she couldn't help laughing. She smiled at him. "To answer your question, I'll have to tell him something. Maybe I'll just tell him to think of me as the one that got away." They shared a laugh and as they prepared to say their goodbyes for the day, this time instead of shaking hands, they shared a tender kiss.


	3. Probably Sexual

**Chapter 3-Probably Sexual**

"If Thoughts Could Kill"

 _Probably sexual._ Those words kept echoing through Lee's head as he tried to look away from her. What had possessed Amanda to say such a thing? Sure, she'd tried to cover it after the fact with a quick _"Freud would say,"_ when he'd given her a startled look. He'd never expected such a thing to come flying out of the mouth of someone who seemed so...good. What was the reason behind it? As he hid his face from her view with his hand, he couldn't help smiling a bit as he wondered if maybe it had come unbidden because she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. Was that it?

 _No,_ he shook his head firmly. If she were interested in him, then why would she have turned him down when he'd asked her to go for a drink with him last week? And why would she have been so adamant about not even spending the night in the same house with him for their cover? He'd tried his damndest, that was for sure, purposely taunting her with his open shirt and his "Get your mind out of the gutter." She may not have been willing to admit it, but he just _knew_ her mind had been drifting to the same place his had. Why couldn't she just admit that she felt the same attraction he did?

Another thought struck him. Since she'd mentioned Freud, it occurred to him that it was a Freudian slip on her part. He'd read about that kind of thing when an unconscious feeling came bubbling to the surface unintentionally. At first, he'd thought she was just poking fun at his active social life, but now he found himself wondering if she'd been having sex dreams about him since they'd been discussing _his_ dreams.

"Are you just going to give me the silent treatment now?" she questioned, breaking him out of his reverie.

In an attempt to mask his thoughts, he pasted on a stern look and replied gruffly, "Well, come on, Amanda. You're the one who's always after me to share more. I was trying to do that, to talk to you, tell you how I was feeling; you asked me about my dreams and then when I tried to explain them, you just made a joke about it."

"Oh, honestly, Lee, I was just trying to lighten the mood a little," she replied apologetically. "I really didn't mean anything by it."

"No?" He raised his eyebrows questioningly, a hint of mischief in his eyes, no longer keeping up the pretense of hurt feelings.

"No." She shook her head adamantly. She couldn't help being unnerved by the way he was looking at her so intently, his bedroom eyes alight with amusement. She flushed under his scrutiny and nervously stammered, "I-I-I d-don't know wh-what you thought I might have m-meant."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Oh, come on, Amanda. I've read some of your background info and you were married for ten years so I know you're not as naive as you pretend to be, especially when you just come up with a comment like that out of the blue."

The way he was looking at her sent a shiver up Amanda's spine. "Well, you know, I only meant since you seem to...um..." She hesitated as she tried to think of the right words without it sounding insulting. She took a deep breath in an attempt to regain her composure, pasted on a teasing smile and replied, "You...well, you date so much, so some of that kind of lifestyle is bound to creep into your dreams."

"Yes, I date, but just because I'm a single guy who dates a lot, that doesn't mean I'm some kind of sex fiend," he argued. "Besides, you're single too, so you can't honestly tell me that you don't have those kind of dreams from time to time."

"I-I-I-" she sputtered as her face turned bright red again.

"Aha!" He cheered triumphantly.

Her embarrassment soon turned to a scowl. "What aha? There's no 'aha' here."

"Then why are you blushing?"

She glanced around nervously at the people coming and going through the hospital courtyard and lowered her voice. "Because I...um...I really don't think this is something we should be talking about, especially here." Speaking in her normal voice again, she added, "Besides, you and I, we j-just work together."

"Funny, because where we were didn't seem to bother you when you made your crack a minute ago," he countered with a salacious grin.

"It...uh..." She let out a sigh when she couldn't think of a suitable explanation for her comment. What _had_ she been thinking when she let that fly out of her mouth? _You know damn well what you were thinking,_ an inner voice scolded her as images from the week before of Lee with his open shirt came unbidden to the forefront of her mind."You...uh...I mean, I...no, I mean, _we_ should keep this on a strictly professional level."

He nodded in agreement but wasn't entirely convinced that she meant what she was saying. He decided to put that theory to the test. "Speaking of which, since you're supposed to be looking out for me, I could use a little help." He gestured to the crutch at his side. "The call of nature is calling pretty loudly."

She frowned. "You probably shouldn't have drunk so much coffee this morning," she lightly scolded him, but shuddered slightly at the thought of what he was asking. Did he expect her to help him while he was in the bathroom since he was having trouble standing on his own? As a regular hospital volunteer, she'd had no problem with such things before, but given the charged nature of their current conversation, this was completely different. With a deep breath, she shook off those nagging thoughts, smiled brightly and replied, "Of course, I'll help you." She quickly rose from her seat and reached for his arm to help him up.

After a moment's struggle, the two of them got him to his feet, crutch propped under one arm and his other wrapped around her for support. Amanda felt the same shiver travel up her spine at his nearness as they slowly made their way back to his room.

Once they arrived, she quickly locked the door with her free hand, knowing he'd need privacy to take care of his personal business and then led him into the tiny adjoining bathroom. She shuddered at the idea of what was to come, but knew it had to be done since he wasn't entirely mobile.

Upon entering the bathroom, Lee began to have second thoughts about this when he sensed her nervousness. "Are you...uh...are you sure you're okay with this? You seem, I don't know, on edge. I mean, if you're really a hospital volunteer, you must have done this a thousand times."

"Oh, I have," she assured him, sounding more confident than she felt. _Just get it over with,_ she admonished herself. "I...uh...I just wasn't sure how much help you need here," she explained in a calmer tone.

"I-" Now, it was his turn to struggle with words. The truth was that while he'd intended this to be just a game, he really did have to pee now and he did need a bit of help since he was partially incapacitated by his busted knee. How was he going to manage everything, holding himself upright with the crutch to avoid putting any weight on his injured leg, while simultaneously taking care of business? He let out a deep sigh. "I know this is awkward, but I really do need help. If you could just...I don't know...at least let me lean on you so I could have both hands free, that would be a big help."

She nodded with a weak smile. "Sure. You can lean on me. I'm a lot stronger than I look."

He smiled back brightly, wrapped his arm more tightly around her and leaned the crutch against the handicapped rail. "Good."

Just as he was reaching for the drawstring on his pajama pants, Amanda piped up, "You know, you might try to do this sitting down instead. In my experience working here, some men find it easier than trying to do it standing up." She gestured to the rails on either side of the toilet. "That is what the rails are there for, after all."

"I-" He glanced at the miniscule room and as he thought of all the maneuvering it would take to get him turned around and into a seated position when his leg was strapped into a rigid brace, he shook his head. "Nah. I don't think that will work. Just think about how much effort it took both of us to get me into the chair outside and there's even less space in here."

"Right," she nodded. She had to agree with his logic despite the fact that it made her uncomfortable. "So, I guess you should...uh..." She gave a slight nod to his partially-undone PJ pants.

"Uh...yeah," he agreed.

Amanda stared into the mirror above the sink in an attempt to avert her eyes as she felt him shifting beside her and heard the telltale sounds of nature's call. When the sounds beside her stopped for a moment, she chanced a glance sideways, but flushed beet red again once she realized he wasn't quite finished straightening his clothing.

Amanda abruptly averted her eyes, but the movement was not lost on her companion, who dropped his voice into that low, flirtatious register and teased, "Like what you see?"

"Oh, honestly." She rolled her eyes as she risked looking back at him, being cautious to only look at his face and not cast her eyes downward. "It's not as if I've never seen the male anatomy before."

"I'm sure you have," he goaded her. "You are a mother, after all and I didn't think the stork brought your children."

"Listen, you've been up long enough," she hastily changed the subject. "And you're supposed to be staying off that knee, so we should really get you back to bed."

For Amanda, that turned out to be the completely wrong thing to say because Lee responded with a cheeky smirk, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, one little peek and now you can't wait to get me into bed, huh?"

"You know very well that's not what I meant," she chided him as she reached across him for his discarded crutch. "Here." She helped him tuck it firmly back under his arm. "Now, let's go."

She helped him hobble back to his bed, her arm still wrapped around him and the two of them together struggled to get him into it, but just when she thought he was ready to lie down, he lost his grip on the crutch sending it clattering to the floor and fell backward onto the bed, his grip on her causing her to fall with him with an "Oof," from her and a loud "Ouch!" from him when the fall jarred his injury.

"Are you okay," she asked as she tried to free herself from his grasp and make sure that she wasn't causing him further pain, but he still held her too tightly, so all she could do was shift just enough to ensure her weight was not on his bad side. She sighed in frustration and said, "I should move. I'm probably hurting you."

"No," he replied. "My bad leg hitting the bed rail is what did it."

"But still, I should-"

"Do you really want to?" he inquired bluntly as he ran a hand down her back to rest just above her bottom.

"I-" She faltered as she saw the hazy look in his eyes, her body tingling with anticipation.

That feeling only grew when Lee's tone changed again to one of sincerity mixed with his unspoken desire for her, "You know, I really should thank you for helping me."

"Well, I...uh..." She blew out a long breath as she struggled to regain her sanity. "That is one of the many responsibilities of a Bedside Bluebell."

 _Bedside blue balls is more like it,_ Lee couldn't help thinking as he reflected back on all the teasing that had led to this moment. By the dark look in her eyes that was a combination of anticipation and raw desire, he knew she could no longer deny what she felt for him. He just wondered if she'd have the nerve to act on it. _One way to find out._ He raised one hand to tug on the back of her head, his fingers catching in her makeshift bun as he lifted his head to hers.

As their lips met, Amanda let out a little sigh at the gentle pressure of his mouth on hers and melted into his embrace. She had to admit that the answer to his question about liking what she saw was a definite 'yes,' She was honestly longing for a better look than she'd gotten, but the part of her that believed they should keep their relationship professional had interfered. Now, there was no denying that it just wasn't possible to maintain a solely working partnership with the man who held her so closely, not when he made her feel things she hadn't felt in years, even though she had a boyfriend.

That thought stopped her cold as she thought of Dean and how she was betraying him just by being here in Lee's arms. She pulled back as the guilt washed over her.

"Amanda?" Lee gave her a questioning look.

"I c-can't d-do this," she sputtered. "I have a boyfriend."

Lee let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, he's obviously not getting the job done or you wouldn't have responded to me the way you did." Wide grin on his face, he nodded to the outline of her erect nipples poking through even the hospital smock she wore.

"Lee-ee," she drawled in warning tone. "That's not a very nice thing to say." While she believed what she'd said was true, she also had to admit, at least to herself that what Lee had said was true too. Even in bed, Dean had never made her feel the way that Lee could just with a simple look.

"Well, he's not, is he?"

"No," she confessed. "But-"

"But what?" he probed. "You're not married to him, are you? Hell, you're not even engaged."

"No," she snorted. "Not for his lack of trying."

"Then where's the problem? You've been seeing him for what, about a year? Since right after your divorce?"

"You really did read my background information, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. Since Billy insisted on keeping you around, I wanted to get to know as much about you as I could."

"Hmmm..." Amanda wasn't sure whether to be touched by his efforts or creeped out. "But it doesn't matter how long I've been seeing him. What matters is that he is still my boyfriend."

"If you haven't made a serious commitment to the guy in all that time, do you really think you're going to?"

"Probably not," she acknowledged. "But my point is that _he_ thinks I'm committed and in a way, I sort of am because I'm not seeing anyone else."

"If that's true, then what are you doing here with me? What were you doing kissing me?"

"You kissed _me_ ," she pointed out.

"You didn't stop me _and_ you kissed me back. Why do you keep denying that you want this, want _me_? Just like you wanted me when we were sharing a house."

"Okay, yes, but-" She broke off when she couldn't come up with a reasonable argument. The slight bulge in his pajama pants that their heated kiss had caused wasn't helping either. She bit down on her lower lip as she thought deeply about her situation. On the one hand, she had a very nice man in her life who loved her, loved her boys and wanted to marry her, but she just didn't feel enough for him and Lee was right, he was most definitely not getting the job done. On the other hand, she had a man right in front of her who she did have feelings for and she was sure could get the job done, but then what? She'd already heard bits about his reputation with the ladies and how he couldn't keep a relationship together. _But can you?_ her inner voice taunted her. _You've already been divorced and you know you're not happy with Dean._

Her decision made, she ran a hand down Lee's face and leaned back in to brush a feather-light kiss across his lips to test the waters. Lee's response was instantaneous. He used the hand on her head to deepen the kiss while the hand still on her lower back drifted downward to squeeze her butt. She let out a low moan, all thoughts of Dean lost as she pressed against Lee's growing erection. Taking great care to avoid his injury, she shifted positions, planting her knees into the thin hospital mattress on either side of his hips.

With Amanda's movement, Lee was able to run his hand under her skirt to the silken panties she wore, delighted to find them dampened with her desire for him. He pushed the fabric aside, found the tender nub and the apex of her thighs and began stroking it. He felt himself growing harder as her moans of pleasure filled his mouth, their kisses growing more heated as passion consumed them both.

Amanda's tugged at his robe to reach inside it for the drawstring he'd only just re-tied and yanked on it to free him from the confines of his pajama pants.

Out of breath, Lee finally broke their kiss and cried out her name as her nimble fingers wrapped around him. "God, Amanda!"

She glanced down at his swollen member in her hand and couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. As if reading her mind, he gasped out through his ragged breathing, "You...did...like what...you saw...didn't you?"

"Oh, yes," she gasped as his touch became more urgent, driving her closer and closer to the edge. She shifted once more, this time just enough to ease herself onto him pushing him deep inside her.

They gasped in unison at the joining of their bodies and she added, "It feels even better than it looks."

"God, yes," he cried as they began to move together. It didn't matter that they'd only known one another for a couple of weeks. They rose and fell together in perfect rhythm as if they'd been doing this for years, each responding perfectly to the other's sighs, gasps and moans until Amanda finally cried out his name with her release, Lee soon following behind her and she collapsed onto his chest as they both panted and tried to catch their breath.

When her heart rate began to approach a more normal level, Amanda propped her head up on her hands and with a flirtatious smile inquired, "So, is this the kind of thing you were dreaming about that kept you from getting any restful sleep."

"No," he admitted as he returned her smile. "But it definitely will be now. I'll be dreaming of new ways to do this...with you."

"You mean...um..." Did she dare ask the burning question on her mind? "Does...um...that mean that you want to, you know, see me again? When it's not about work, I mean."

"On one condition," he replied with a more serious expression.

Amanda swallowed hard wondering what that condition would be? Given his reputation, she feared that he'd still want to see other women too. Apprehensively, she questioned, "What's the condition?"

"You have to ditch the wearisome weatherman."

"He's already a memory," Amanda assured her new lover.

"Just like that?"

"Well, you were right. He never did get the job done and it's for sure I never had those kind of dreams about him," she explained flirtatiously.

"So, are you saying you have had that kind of dream about me?"

"Maybe. Maybe more than one and if you behave yourself for the rest of the time you're in here, maybe I'll even tell you about one of them."

"That's blackmail," he groused good-naturedly.

"I like to think of it as a strong incentive to keep you on your best behavior."

"Or maybe you could tell me about one of them now if I promise to behave myself."

"Maybe not," she fired back as she extracted herself from his arms.

"Hey, where are you going?"

She indicated her disheveled appearance. "I should really go freshen up." She tapped her watch. "It's almost time for your next round of tests. If I'm going to keep looking after you, I can't have any of the hospital staff seeing me like this." She turned on her heel and sauntered toward the bathroom leaving him gaping in surprise after her.

"A-man-da!" he called after her in exasperation. Had she done that on purpose knowing full well that he couldn't easily chase after her? He glanced down at the floor forlornly at the crutch that was just a hair too far away for him to reach. He shook his head and despite his frustration, couldn't help chuckling at her ability to play the game as well as he did. Not one bit of the information in her background could have prepared him for that, but he was sure going to enjoy getting to know that side of her. He just hoped he could keep up.


End file.
